Blast from the Past: The Ancient Art of War

As a child it seemed as if I had all the time in the world to pursue any type of fun activity whether it was sports, reading novels, comic books, and video games. Yet when it came to video games I was more partial to one than the other. You see while I had the old Sega Master and NES consoles I was drawn to the pc; which is why I am a pc gamer.

More importantly, though, I was drawn to the RTS genre given the fact that I have always had a fascination with medieval warfare. So it was that a game called the Ancient Art of War became one of the first pc games I ever played (I played the 1989 release instead of the 1984 release because, in ’84, I was only two years old but they were the same game).

Not only was AAoW one of the first games I played but it is also the definitive RTS game to ever have been made and one of the first of the genre. AAoW, to this day, is still one of the most challenging and perfect RTS games one could hope to ever play. No other RTS game since has ever been as complete as this game was.

And I am not exaggerating here.

While the game’s objective was simple the path to get there was not. You had to plan everything out carefully. You had to consider the terrain to travel over, how far your supply lines extended, the condition of your troops, what kind of forces and how many men stood between you and your objective, and what sort of strategies the opposing general would employ.

Now you might be scratching your head as to how this makes a DOS game so great. Especially those of you who have been playing RTS games such as Command and Conquer, Civilization, Total War, Starcraft, Warcraft, and the other RTS games that have followed since.

So let us first take a look at the AI opponents in the game, for no other game ever offered such an eclectic group of historical figures to go up against.

Starting from the top left picture and working our way across you have:

ATHENA: is worshipped for her wisdom as well as her warrior skills.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT: keeps good food lines but weak when not on the plains.
GERONIMO: uses hit and run tactis but doesn't like to be caught in the open.
CRAZY IVAN: isn't a great leader but he has a good sense of humor.
CAESAR: is a tactical genius but does not always protect his conquests.
GENGHIS KHAN and SUBOTAI: use surprise and speed to become nearly invincible.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE: makes precise plans but can underestimate his enemy.
SUN TZU: understands every aspect of war and uses it to his own advantage.

I mean where else can you go up against the likes of Athena, Geronimo, Alexander the Great, and Sun Tzu? The best is that each general had their own style with Sun Tzu being the toughest opponent of all and Crazy Ivan being just that; crazy.

Given the variety of opponents and strategies you are certainly in for a fun time. Yet you also would have to be acutely aware of your supply lines and terrain. Supply lines are what will keep your troops fed and healthy once you find a village or fort to occupy. Once you leave the village/fort the supply lines extend to a certain distance before your troops are cut off and begin to weaken.

Now while you are moving away from the villages/forts the terrain also has a significant impact on your troops. The terrain will affect not only the movement of your troops but will also weaken them and, depending on the terrain, you will find yourself losing troops as well. For example grass terrain is great for quick movement and ease while lakes and mountains can be detrimental to your troops depending on whether it is shallow or deep water and high or low mountains. Every type of terrain will have its drawbacks and, sometimes, benefits as well. Forests, for example slow movement down, with the possibility of losing troops, but if you are facing knights it will hinder their ability greatly (One RTS franchise that uses terrain very well is the Total War series).

Of course there are areas of the map that are tactically important such as the aforementioned villages and forts. There are also bridges that are the perfect choke point should you find yourself on the defensive and forts are great for defending against your enemies and supplying your troops. Yet Terrain can also be you ally when defending certain points.

Mountains protecting you while your enemies have to go through a lake making it the “easy” way. They are going to be weak by the time they get to your troops.

Yet what is a RTS without units?

With AAoW you have four unit types: the spy, archer, soldier/barbarian, and knight. The knight, of course, is the most powerful unit but can be hindered by forests. The archer is great for defending the forts and chokepoints while the soldiers/barbarians are for getting in close and personal. The spy, on the other hand, doesn’t fight at all. His job is to scout ahead of your troops and locate the enemy’s forces. Once you encounter your enemy you then have to set your troops into a formation and have at it!

Prepare to get shafted oh Mounted One!

Even though this game may appear to be simple it is anything but that. It is complex and challenging with the player having to carefully plan out his or her attack.

Also make sure to check out this great websiteto find out more about the game. Hell, if you ever get that chance give it a shot. I still have the old 3-and-a-half-inch floppy which I had purchased the game.

One last thing though. This game came with a construction set so that you could create your own maps and campaigns. A trend that certain developers and games continue to provide in this day and age for pc gamers. You just can’t beat that.